A NEW scheme aimed at helping Armed Forces veterans who live on the brink of poverty has been launched by the Bolton Guild of Help.

The launch yesterday included veterans who have benefited from the work performed by the Guild, in partnership with the Armed Forces Charity SSAFA and Bolton Armed Forces Centre For Veterans.

Barry Pickard, an ex-Fusiliers serviceman from the local area said: “I was homeless, forced to do a lot of sofa-surfing but with the help of SSAFA, they got me a home, a bed, cooker, and curtains.

“And with the Guild, they helped me with clothing, especially when I had a wedding – they were able to provide me with a suit.”

The 59-year-old is just one of more than 82,000 veterans and their families who were supported by SSAFA with financial, housing and mental health needs last year.

Now the Bolton Veterans Aid (BVA) has been launched to provide quicker a quicker way to get help to veterans and their families.

Each year, the Guild provides roughly 300 grants to households in need, for items such as cookers, washing machines, fridge freezers and furniture.

Richard Davies, a trustee of the Guild and volunteer of SSAFA, said: “It is 74 years since the end of World War Two and with every passing year, the number of people who served in that conflict are becoming fewer and fewer but we are still seeing many people who have served.

“Many of these are relatively young people and their problems are many and, quite often, very complex.”

However, Mr Davies noted that: “One significant change that we are now seeing is that more women are coming forward for assistance.”

Tracey Wallace, the secretary at The Guild, spoke at the launch about the importance of the scheme, saying: “A lot of our clients are vulnerable people and need more hands on, consistent support. We have the facilities at Scott House to provide this support.

“The Bolton Guild of Help is therefore, currently operating a five-year development plan to expand on the grants available for individuals as well as the number of projects run in partnership with various charities to provide specific support to individuals.”

The Guild was set up in 1905 by the Mayor at the time and several local businessmen to deal with the poverty that was rife in the industrial towns with people starving and suffering with little or no help available.

Ms Wallace believed that the Guild’s onjective has not changed saying: “Looking back through past records the problems of the early 1900’s are not dissimilar to the problems of today; debt, homelessness, breakdown of the family, loss of paid work and little income.

“We are therefore looking at further developing the Guild to enable us to reach out to more clients each year by the means of a grant and further assistance to hopefully enable self-help and sustainment.”